Part 1


Together with the rest of the country our family was greatly impacted by the great depression. As mine production slowed to a crawl father found work on the maintenance crew five days a week at half pay. However that small income was barely sufficient to feed and house his family.

Plans I had to attend the University of Arizona following high school graduation were set aside as I sought work to contribute to our family's welfare. Any job at all was helpful, but steady work was not to be had. Operating a rootbeer and hamburger stand, cutting, hauling and selling firewood, and working as a partsman for the local Ford automobile agency provided low pay and required hours, but at least I was helping.


As the depression worsened Charles and I rode railroad freight cars around the country for about six months, searching for work of any kind. We found day to day jobs in the oil fields in Texas, in peach orchards in Arkansas, and worked construction jobs in Ohio.

Earning just enough to keep going, We saw a great deal of our country from box car doors, and had more than a few challenging and exciting experiences. We were happy when a letter from home caught up with us telling of a possible move from Miami, Arizona to Phoenix. Father had been promised work with the City of Phoenix as an operator at a new sewage treatment plant under construction.

Hurrying home from Cleveland, Ohio we learned on arrival that in order to be employed by the City of Phoenix father had to have an established residence in that city for a period of six months before starting. We decided he should continue his maintenance work at the mine in Miami while I would move to Phoenix, find a job, and establish a family home in preparation for the arrival of the rest of the family.

Once in Phoenix I was fortunate in securing employment with the contractor that was constructing the new sewage treatment plant where father was to work. My wages were sufficient to carry out the family's plan, and in due time father and mother and the rest of the children made the move to our new Phoenix home. Dad began work as an operator at the newly constructed sewage treatment plant for a handsome $90 per month. After he began work with the city I continued to be employed for several months as the last stages of the construction project were finalized and machinery put into place.

My pay had increased from .60 cents an hour to start to .90 cents an hour by the time we finished the project. On completion I was offered additional work with the company on a project in Hawaii at the same high rate of pay. While I knew it would be difficult to find other work at equal pay, and the job in Hawaii in fact sounded great, nevertheless I felt sure that something would happen for the best if I stayed in Phoenix with my family, which turned out to be a happy decision. Charles, Hodge and I secured separate newspaper routes that brought in enough to purchase clothing, books, lunches and entertainment. We enrolled in school, Charles and I attending Phoenix Jr. College, with Hodge in high school and Juanita and Betty in grade school.

Those uncertain, insecure, growing up years during the height of the depression were fertile ground for a variety of things, and the unsettled adventurism of young hearts and minds provided motive and desire that had to be anchored in the context of family and home if the hectic changes of life were to be woven into a framework for a secure approach to living.

In seeking a wife one must become a good judge of young women, developing a positive mental picture of the type of person he'd be best suited with for a lifetime of companionship and love. At the age of 25 I had enjoyed many casual and a few not so casual girlfriends, but none had been precisely right for me.

Then one day Mary Sherwood walked through the front door of our house and into the living room. I was recovering from a severe cold or the flu, and she was accompanied by her brother Hubble. She wore a cute outfit that showed off her petite figure, with nice shoes and stockings revealing pretty legs. She had beautiful red hair, a pretty face with a freckled nose, and an easy laugh that made me smile in spite of how poorly I felt at that moment.

Hubble had been living in a rented room in our home for several months, ever since taking a job with the City of Phoenix working under my father at the sewage treatment plant. To us he was just plain Bill, and he'd told us about his four sisters. Two of them, Marjorie and Elaine, were older than he was, and two, Mary and Charlotte, were younger.

Marjorie and Elaine were each married and had children. Mary worked as the secretary for Phoenix Motor Supply Company, and Charlotte was in training at St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing. I recognized in Mary the strong family characteristics that I saw in Bill, and hoped I'd have a chance to know her better.

Bill and I often went out together in the evenings, so it became a thing that we did to stop by Mary's and Lea's shared apartment to visit. Lea Gardner was Mary's roommate and one of her best friends. At times the girls would be washing dishes, ironing, cleaning house, or doing their hair and nails when we arrived, so our visits were short, warm, friendly and comfortable, entirely without pretense or show.

Before long I asked Mary to go out with me. More often than not we ended up visiting her family home or mine. Evenings at home with family and friends served in place of shows or night spots. There was no television, and Phoenix only had two theaters. Lack of money that might allow us to enjoy the better restaurants and dance spots was a large factor. Saturday nights and special occasions were the only times we could afford to go out on the town, even in a limited sense.

Playing family party poker for fun and companionship we kept the stakes low enough so those who lost were usually separated from $2 or less. Seldom were the winners skilled enough to repeat during the next game. Such games were great fun for all of us, and Mary and I found our friendship quickly growing.